Palestijn op bulldozer verwondt 16 mensen in Jeruzalem

 

Hier 2 berichten over de nieuwe aanval gisteren in Jeruzalem.

 

Wordt dit een nieuwe trend? Ik heb mij er weleens over verbaasd dat er niet meer aanslagen door Oost-Jeruzalemieten worden gepleegd, die immers niet langs vervelende checkpoints of de veiligheidsbarriere hoeven. De meeste Arabische inwoners van Oost-Jeruzalem zijn echter blij met hun status, dus het valt te hopen dat zij dit soort daden hard veroordelen, maar toen een paar maanden geleden een Arabier uit Oost-Jeruzalem in een religieuze school om zich heen begon te schieten, werd de dader door veel Arabieren in Jeruzalem als held gezien.

 

Meer van dergelijke aanslagen zal onherroepelijk leiden tot meer controles en beperkingen voor Arabieren in Jeruzalem, en mogelijk afsluiting van bepaalde wijken van de rest van de stad. Dit werpt ook een nieuw licht op de wens van veel Israëli's dat Jeruzalem ongedeeld blijft.

 

RP

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Last update - 16:13 22/07/2008

 

Driver shot dead; 16 hurt, one in serious condition

Bulldozer driver goes on rampage in Jerusalem, apparent copycat of recent deadly attack

 

By Haaretz Service and News Agencies
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1004437.html

 

 

A Palestinian bulldozer driver went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem on Tuesday, wounding at least 16 people, just weeks after a similar attack in the capital left three dead.

 

One of the wounded was in serious condition and the rest sustained light wounds. They were taken to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem for treatment.

 

The driver of the tractor struck a bus and at least five cars before being shot dead by security forces, Jerusalem police said.

 

Television footage showed an elderly woman being wheeled into an ambulance and rescue personnel assisting visibly shocked passersby. A mother and her 9-month-old son were among the lightly wounded.

 

The copycat attack occurred on the corner of Keren Hayesdod and King David streets in downtown Jerusalem, down the road from the hotel where U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama was to be staying later in the day.

 

"The bulldozer driver left a construction site, and hit two cars," a police spokesman said. "A civilian who saw what was happening, shot him. The bulldozer continued on its way. A Border Police patrol... continued to shoot and the terrorist was killed."

 

An eyewitness said that the whole incident took place in less than a few minutes.

 

"One car flipped over and others were crushed. I started running in the direction of the tractor. People regained their composure within seconds. A guy from Susya, near southern Mount Hebron, shot him in the head and a few minutes later a Border Police officer shot him as well," the witness added.

 

On July 2, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem plowed a bulldozer down Jaffa Road, Jerusalem's main thoroughfare, killing three people. He was not known to be affiliated with any Palestinian militant group.

 

"This was another attempt to murder innocent people in a senseless act of terrorism," said government spokesman Mark Regev. "All people who believe in peace and reconciliation must unequivocally condemn this attack. Unfortunately, it is clear that we as a society will have to remain vigilant against terrorism."

 

Minutes after the attack, the driver, wearing shorts and black shoes, was sprawled backward in the construction vehicle's cabin, his legs dangling lifelessly.

 

Firetrucks had massed at the scene, where the smell of gas was wafting and liquid had spilled on the ground.

 

Sirens wailed in the background, and a police helicopter hovered overhead.

 

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Last update - 15:48 22/07/2008

Rampaging bulldozer driver 'missed pedestrian's head by inches'

 

By Haaretz Service and News Agencies
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1004446.html

 

 

Witnesses to the attack by a bulldozer driver in downtown Jerusalem on Tuesday said the Palestinian behind the wheel targeted pedestrians and vehicles before he was shot dead by a civilian and a Border Policeman.

 

"[The driver] tried to bring the blade of the bulldozer on the head of a pedestrian, but missed her by an inch," said one eyewitness. "At first I thought it was an accident, but then he kept going in a zigzag down the slope of King David Street, overturned a car and hit a few cars. The whole thing happened very quickly.

 

"One car flipped over and others were crushed. I started running in the direction of the tractor. People regained their composure within seconds. A guy from Susya, near southern Mount Hebron, shot him in the head and a few minutes later a Border Police officer shot him as well," the witness added.
 
At least 16 people were wounded when the East Jerusalem resident drove the vehicle off the contruction site and down a main road, yards from where U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama was due to stay Tuesday night.

 

The driver of the bus hit by the bulldozer said he was chased as the driver wielded the vehicle's shovel.

 

"I was driving on the main road when the [it] hit me in the rear, on
the right hand side," the driver of the bus, who was not identified, told Channel 10 TV.

 

"After I passed him he turned round, made a U-turn and rammed the windows twice with the shovel. The third time he aimed for my head, he came up to my window and I swerved to the right, otherwise I would have gone to meet my maker," he said.

 

Witness Moshe Shimshi said the driver, who was wearing a large, white skullcap commonly worn by religious Muslims, slammed into the side of the bus, then sped away and went for a car.

 

"He didn't yell anything, he just kept ramming into cars," Shimshi said. "The driver then headed for cars waiting at a red light and rammed into them with all his might.